Nikon D800 via B&H
Here’s some highlighted specs:
_36.3 megapixel, full-frame sensor (FX)
_up to 5fps still image shooting
_1080pHD video 24 or 30fps
_ISO Range 100-6400 (extendable from 25,600)
_Live View + External Monitor viewing for professional video applications
_Built in external microphone with audio monitoring capabilities via external headphones
_Twin card slots – one Compact Flash and one SD
_weight = 2 pounds 3 oz
The curve balls for me? The megapixels. There’s a lot of em. Also, this is geared a lot more toward video than I would have anticipated. But beyond that… Please note I HAVE NOT touched one of these cameras, and like the D4, NO I didn’t shoot the campaign. I haven’t yet spent time with the camera to tell you any gory details, although I’m assuming I’ll be able to chat more soon.
Aesthetics? Click thru a range of images of the camera via the above tabs.
So.. I (we) knew this was coming, but rather than me spouting off about having played with the system (I can’t – although some of you journalist types have I’m sure), or telling you what your feelings about this system should be (I won’t), I’m turning the tables on you.
What’s your take? Love, hate, indifferent? Insights?
[Reminder that Nikon plays close attention to this blog, so your comments on this post – glowing or otherwise – might help inform Nikon about what your thinking.]Link to all the Nikon D800 details and/or purchase here via B&H.
Why do I get the feeling that no matter what Nikon did, the same crowd would be here arguing with the same ferocity. Like so many of you, the D4 is what I wanted, but the trade off of having to sell a kidney to do it made me settle for the D800. What’s more, many here are condemning Nikon based on what they see on paper, but I for one will not do this until I get my hands on the camera. After all, didn’t they give us the wonderful D3s and D700 in the past? Why immediately assume that the same minds didn’t know what they were doing now? Their track record is very good indeed.
I ordered the D800E the first minute it could be pre-ordered. But, I also have pre-ordered the Fujifilm XPro-1 and three lenses. That I can carry around easily.
The trick is to know when to use which one…
ill stick with my XA
Naturally, the web is currently filled with a litany of comments about what this camera should or should not have. I was hoping for an updated D700 like many but I have a D700 now and a D4 on the way after seeing this release. I’m quite sure that for what I shoot 16MP is sufficient but I do have a couple clients that want the huge files that a Phase One or similar will produce. It’s important to note that mostly, these folks *think* they need all those pixels but I happen to know they don’t.
All that aside, however, I think Nikon’s only real stumble with this release has been it’s messaging and product positioning. Knowing, that a lot of folks were expecting something with the noise performance of the D700 or D3X but with more megapixels, I would have expected Nikon to get in front of that ball a little more. Setting expectations without giving away information before a release is a tricky business certainly, and even Apple doesn’t always pull this off. Ultimately, I don’t have any complaints about the D800 but if I were to offer advice to Nikon, it would simply be to pay a little more attention to managing customer expectations versus product road maps.
For my part, I’ll probably ditch my D700 when I have the D4 in hand and purchase a D800 sometime this summer as a low cost way to avoid purchasing an expensive medium format back or medium format digital.
Alex – understand where you are coming from, and you may be right as to the issue of product positioning. However, in a world where mirrorless cameras with smaller sensors have reached the 24MP range and where during the lifespan of the D800 the market will be inundated with those cameras, Nikon had to do something dramatic to ensure that 2 or 3 years from now their camera would still be selling and not be swallowed-up by the fast approaching mirrorless technology. Like the side mirror in our cars, “objects behind you may be closer than you think.” Nikon could I’ll afford these objects to catch up in a couple of years time.
36 megapixels is overkill. The return-on-megapixel calculation doesn’t work out for me. I’ve been making great prints from 12 megapixels for my portrait and wedding clients, and more resolution does nothing but cost me extra money and time. I’ve been very happy with my D3 and D700 for resolution and ISO. I had hoped Nikon would release a D700 upgrade with better performance and video capabilities. The D4 is great, but I was hoping for a lower-priced equivalent, like the D700 was the the D3.